feat(coding-agent): select provider before model

[gurssagar]

Fixes #2287

Summary

Change plain /model from a flat catalog to provider → model selection. Users can choose their provider first, then search a shorter list containing only that provider's models. Keep /model <query> as the direct-search shortcut.

This PR contains only the picker feature. Fast-mode capability and daemon metadata changes are tracked separately in #2286.

User flow

1. Open /model with no query. See Choose provider and Search providers.
2. Search by provider ID or display name. Each represented provider appears once, with a model count, configured-auth status, and current-provider marker when applicable.
3. Confirm a provider. This only opens its model list; it does not switch models or trigger authentication.
4. Search that provider's models, optionally adjust supported reasoning effort, then confirm the model using the existing selection/authentication flow.
5. Press Escape to return to providers. Restore the previous provider filter and highlighted provider when present. Press Escape again to close.

/model <query> still starts directly in cross-provider model search within the active all/scoped selection. Its first Escape also returns to providers; the next closes. The model query is cleared when entering a provider again.

Implementation

Provider grouping, ordering, and search

• Add local providers | models navigation state to ModelSelectorComponent. Derive providers from the existing model catalog and active scope; add no new provider endpoint.
• Resolve display names using built-in names, OAuth names, then raw provider IDs.
• Deduplicate providers and retain existing authentication-aware model-sort priority, including signed-in Prime Inference priority. Preselect the current provider/model when present.
• Filter provider names/IDs with normalized fuzzy matching. Retain provider priority order rather than sorting provider rows by fuzzy score.
• Restrict model results to the chosen provider while preserving existing exact-ID, prefix/token, fuzzy, current/recent, and auth-aware search ranking.
• Retain unauthenticated catalog entries. “Signed in” means configured authentication, not a verified live request.

State, keyboard controls, and layout

• Preserve the current stage, provider restriction, query, and selected item across catalog/auth refreshes when the item remains available. Clamp selection safely when it disappears.
• Continue avoiding local registry refresh when models are injected by the caller.
• Apply all/scoped filtering at both stages. Preserve scoped model order within a provider without a query. Switching scope can leave an empty provider-specific model list; back or another scope change remains available.
• Replace the search input on stage changes while retaining focus and using the correct placeholder/submit handler.
• Keep configurable navigation, paging, confirmation, cancellation, scope, and cursor controls. Left-at-search-start retains back behavior; supported effort editing takes precedence with an empty model query.
• Edit effort only on model rows. Pass an effort override only after an explicit edit; untouched effort retains normal model-switch restoration.
• Update ConfigurationMenuComponent footer hints via isSelectingProvider(): navigation/close at the provider stage, model/effort/back at the model stage.
• Reserve rows for the stage heading and hide model-only details in provider/empty results. Preserve narrow/short viewport behavior, scroll indicators, price details, and effort alignment.
• Update seven test files and add a coding-agent changelog fragment.

Compatibility and scope

No daemon wire changes. This PR adds no commands, events, capabilities, schema fields, or protocol/schema version changes. It uses existing catalog and configured-provider metadata and preserves the model-selection callback contract.

This does not redesign /login, merge configuration tabs, alter provider inference code, or change the model catalog. Model-selection completion, busy-state protection, login cancellation, effort retry, and editor draft/focus retention remain covered.

The additional provider confirmation and back-then-close behavior are intentional interaction changes, including when entering through direct model search.

Validation

• Isolated picker-only branch: npm run check passed (format/lint/types, installer, browser smoke; 1,035 files checked, no fixes).
• 231 tests passed across all seven changed test files: model-selector actions (30), configuration menu (13), interactive-mode status (169), search reset (4), feat(ui): make configuration pickers compact and inline #2182 selection (6), #3217 scope ordering (2), and #4575 auth selection (7).
• git diff --check passed. Validation made no formatter or implementation changes.

Run from packages/coding-agent:

npx tsx ../../node_modules/vitest/dist/cli.js --run test/configuration-menu.test.ts test/model-selector-actions.test.ts test/interactive-mode-status.test.ts test/selector-search-reset.test.ts test/suite/regressions/2182-picker-selection.test.ts test/suite/regressions/3217-scoped-model-order.test.ts test/suite/regressions/4575-model-auth-selection.test.ts

Coverage includes grouping/search, provider-restricted callbacks, current selection, direct search, back/close, refresh/empty states, scopes, authentication ordering and fallback, effort/search interaction, failure/retry, draft/focus retention, paging, and viewport limits. The total includes existing regressions, not only newly added tests.

Supplementary earlier installed-component smoke passed both stages, scrolling, and back navigation at 24/80/120 columns × 8/12/24 rows, using fake models/auth and blocked network access. It loaded the installed selector from an isolated unpublished build that also included the separate Fast change. The isolated PR-branch validation above is the feature-only check; the installed smoke is not authenticated end-to-end inference validation.

No real credentials were copied or authenticated inference calls made. Account availability, live login, and provider acceptance remain outside these mock tests.

Note

Add provider-first selection to ModelSelectorComponent picker

• Refactors the model picker into two stages: a provider list (searchable by ID or display name, with model counts and auth status) followed by a provider-scoped model list. Escape returns to the provider list before closing.
• Direct model search via /model <query> still opens straight in model mode and searches across providers.
• Updates configuration-menu.ts footer to label Escape as "close" during provider selection and "back" during model browsing.
• Updates all existing selector, configuration-menu, status, search-reset, and regression tests to drive through the provider stage before asserting model behavior.
• Behavioral Change: every model selection flow now requires an extra provider-confirmation step; cancellation needs two Escape presses (back to providers, then close).

^{Macroscope summarized de661db.}

[github-actions]

Prime Agent performance — pending-trust

PR de661db3 compared with main 878410b3.

Waiting for contributor vouch before credentials or sandboxes are allocated.

Run, logs, and downloadable raw results

[github-actions]

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